


pilgrims on a long journey

by crumbsfiction



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Gen, Pre-Auction, cheesy af, tooru is crushing but mostly healing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-21
Updated: 2016-03-21
Packaged: 2018-05-28 06:10:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6317809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crumbsfiction/pseuds/crumbsfiction
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Tooru and Suzuya help each other get better, without really doing a thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	pilgrims on a long journey

The training was gruelling. Tooru would throw a knife in the air, two, three, only to watch them slip through his fingers and fall to the ground as he desperately scrambled to catch them.

Whilst failure was something he was thoroughly used to, every misstep he made in front of his superior added up into a ever-growing pile. With every clatter of metal against plastic carpet, the lump in his throat grew, making it more and more difficult to breathe.

“Try again,” Suzuya said. “And keep your wrist more straight, like this.” He extended his hand, polished knife elegantly poised between small fingers. He made it look so easy.

Tooru nodded, bending down to quickly gather up the dropped weapons. He replicated Suzuya’s grip as best he could, breathed in, and-

Clatter.

The thoughts flashed through his mind before he could stop them.

_i messed up i messed up i failed i’m sorry i’m sorry i failed i’m so sorry_

”Oops!” Suzuya practically yelled, his clear voice cutting through the muddled mess of Tooru’s panicked mind. ”There it goes. Well, why are you sitting on the ground? It’s no big deal, just get up and try again.”

_No big deal._

Tooru took a deep breath and let it back out. 

Okay.

When he looked up, Suzuya was smiling slightly.

“Teaching sure is difficult! Well, I’ll explain again. If you flex your index finger like this…”

-

Squad thirteen was made up entirely of lunatics.

Somehow, Tooru found himself strangely relaxed in their company - not fully taking part in their jokes and mock-arguments, but never feeling entirely shut out either. There always seemed to be some sort of on-going banter in the background, even as they were working on reports. As a result, even the most daunting pile of paperwork looked just a bit more manageable. 

Still, it came as a surprise when he received a text message from Hanbee, asking if Tooru was free for the day.

Team-building activities with squad thirteen, it turned out, included a planned trip to the local planetarium. While being dragged around a stuffy and hot building while a virtual stranger explained the intricacies of the galaxy in vivid detail was not what Tooru had initially planned for the day, he found himself enjoying it more than he had expected. Socialising, however, was tiresome and as the rest of the group decided to make the most of the gift shop, Tooru elected to take a short break, leaning against a wall where few people seemed to pass.

He closed his eyes, resting his head against the cool concrete of the wall behind him, letting his mind wander – back to the Chateau, to his teammates and their upcoming missions. As usual, his stomach churned at the thought of them going back into battle, once more getting injured, once more being let down by his lack of abilities. If only -

His thoughts were interrupted by a repetitive and highly obnoxious sound, similar to the sound effects of an arcade game.

Suzuya was sitting cross-legged on the ground by Tooru’s feet, playing a game on his phone. He recognised it quickly. Saiko had shown it to him at some point, Tooru was sure; the brightly coloured sweets moving around on the screen had been seared into his eyes for what seemed like hours afterwards.

Noticing the look of frustration on his superior’s face, Tooru cleared his throat slightly.

“Do you want some help?”

Suzuya tilted his head backwards at an almost unnatural angle, smiling up at Tooru. The unclipped pieces of his hair fell backward with the movement, revealing his widow’s peak as well as the red stitchings on the helix of his ears.

“I can’t clear this level,” Suzuya said. “If you’re any good at it, you can give it a go.” He held his phone up over his head. Tooru noticed the multiple dangling ornaments tied to it, shaped like animals or cakes. There were a few multi-coloured bells as well, making the phone jingle slightly whenever it moved. 

Tentatively, Tooru plucked the phone from Suzuya’s hand. “I’ll try,” he promised, turning his attention to the spinning sweets. The mechanics were easy enough to understand, and Tooru soon found himself engrossed in the movements and colours, tapping and sliding his fingers when necessary.

Suzuya watched with large eyes from somewhere near his shoulder.

“You’re really good at this,” he said, with what seems like genuine admiration in his voice.

Tooru felt blood shoot to his face. “It’s just a game,” he said, quickly handing the phone back to its owner. The screen proudly proclaimed _Level Cleared_ in rainbow letters.

“Still,” Suzuya said, sliding the phone back into his pocket. “Thanks for the help.” 

-

The next time they trained together, Tooru noticed something different.

Instead of the usual prosthetic that had been fitted to match Suzuya’s light skin colour, the one his instructor was using today was a metallic grey, looking slightly thinner but heavier than the other. He couldn’t help but stare in thinly veiled awe as Suzuya managed this prosthetic, too, with ease, flipping and spinning like the floor was just a giant trampoline.

He was still looking - mainly at the intricate build, plates of metal and plastic held together by delicate little screws – as they were taking a short break, sitting next to each other on a bench in the corner of the gym.

”Sir, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you…” Tooru regretted the words the second they left his mouth. Who was he to ask such personal details about someone, and a superior squad leader no less?

Suzuya followed his gaze downward. “Oh, the leg? Well, I’m sure you’ve heard about the Owl battle a couple of years ago,” Suzuya said, waving his hand vaguely in the air. “It happened then. Wasn’t paying enough attention, I guess.”

“I’m sorry,” Tooru managed. He tried to imagine what it would be like, going through something so life-changing and knowing there was no going back. Suzuya couldn’t regrow any limbs, after all.

“What for?” Suzuya asked, sounding genuinely curious.

“I’m-“ Tooru started. “It must have been difficult…? I’m sorry you had to go through that,” he tried.

“Oh. Well, the physical rehabilitation stuff was a bit tricky at first, but luckily Dr. Chigyou helped me out with making this, and the other one” Suzuya said, patting his thigh. “I like the other one the best. It holds knives, you know!” 

Tooru had to smile at his companion’s excitement. “I know. You showed me.”

“Count yourself lucky. I don’t show just anyone,” Suzuya grinned, kicking his feet back and forth as he spoke. “The surprise of it is the best part. They never see it coming.”

 _Maybe_ , Tooru found himself thinking, _I could learn to be like that too. I’ll take them by surprise._

“Thanks for showing,” Tooru said. “And telling. And everything else.”

Suzuya quirked an eyebrow.

“Anytime,” he said, fingers tapping against the surface of the bench. “You know what?” he asked as Tooru met his impossibly large, dark eyes with his own.

“What?”

Suzuya smirked and planted both feet firmly on the ground. Then he was in motion, sprinting to the entrance of the gym while shouting over his shoulder.

“Last one to the vending machine buys snacks!”

**Author's Note:**

> shakes head solemnly at the lack of fic about these two. i had to take matters into my own incompetent hands
> 
> anyway i see them as having a kind of mutual but unspoken understanding of each other, including past traumas etc. since so much of what they’ve been through is very similar in nature (tokage you fuck!!!). maybe one day they will Talk About It but for now they’re just trying to be okay and get on with their lives. *quickly wipes away tears* ok whatever find me @ jsuya.tumblr.com


End file.
